Jun 19, 2013 - St Petersburg

Today was a full day at The Hermitage and it's difficult to describe all that we've seen. Even in The various buildings of the Hermitage it was difficult at times to choose whether to concentrate on the art works or the interiors - works of art in themselves. Alle was an excellent guide getting us to major areas in a museum for which it is calculated that you'd need 100 years if you spent one minute on each item. We were fortunate to have two booked tours of special areas - the golden room with the jewels of the Romanovs and the Diamond...

Jun 18, 2013 - Krasnoyarsk to Listvyanka

Tonight we board the train for the coastal town of Listvyanka on the shores of Lake Baikal. We will arrive sometime tomorrow evening. So in the interim we will have no wi-if connectivity. I thought I would spend this blog to tell you about average Russian life as we have learned along the way. The young people are very curious. Most have learned some English in school so if they hear you speak or hear you attempting to speak Russian they often offer to help you or stand close to hear you speak English. They want to know about the states and...

Jun 18, 2013 - Novgorod to St Petersburg

Off by 8.30 toward St Petersburg in our coach. On the main road between Moscow and St Petersburg - trucks galore; the little villages with very dilapidated houses - possibly now used as dashas. Our new guide Alle, an economics graduate, gave us a good run down on the impact of the various regimes and the impact on the people; now the aged pension is 10000 roubles per month about the equivalent of $300 and people without family to support them are in desperate situations. This perhaps indicates why the museum rooms have so many elderly...

Jun 17, 2013 - Irkutsk, Lake Baikal and Novosibirsk.

Our biggest problem in Irkutsk was food. It was difficult even finding restaurants. The style of building was wooden with small windows. There was not a lot of window frontage to display what was inside hence it was difficult to tell what was inside unless it was part of a major chain like Subway (they're everywhere) or KFC. Our initial efforts took us to a florists, a hairdressers, a solicitors office (or it could have been an architects), various clothing boutiques and a pet shop. We eventually found a restaurant on the second floor of a...

Jun 17, 2013 - Krasnoyarsk, Siberia

Arrived in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia by train and have to say it is not what I imagined. Here we are in the middle of Siberia, the weather is warm and humid, in a city of over a million people. We will see the city later today and walk along the river. Right now we are a bit wiped out and looking forward to a bed that fits our bodies and has some give to it. The train beds on this last train were quite narrow and Dick's arms kept flopping off. He slept through it though.....me on the other hand....well not so much. So a hotel bed looks luxurious...

Jun 17, 2013 - Novgorod

The overnight train trip was reasonably comfortable although I seemed to wake at each stop and then drop off again. A knock on our door at about 5.30 and Barbara and I took it in turns to dress; I chose not to visit the toilet! The train was in spot on 6.10 and we transferred to our hotel for a shower and breakfast then 12 rather weary travellers were joined by our local guide Victoria for a tour of the Kremlin. We really should say the Novgorod Kremlin as Kremlin means fortress and many cities have one, each containing a number of...

Jun 16, 2013 - Yekaterinburg, Trans-sib train to Krasnoyarsk

Established in the early 1700's Yekaterinburg has an interesting history. Yesterday I blogged about the Romanov's, today about more recent times. This city is located in the Ural Mountain region of Russia. The area is very rich in minerals especially iron ore and ores for hardening steel. It really began to develop as a city once the importance of these minerals became known. A city of app. 1.5 million people it boasts fine universities, theatre, ballet, opera and major industry. In fact we noted signs for such performers as Elton John and...

Jun 16, 2013 - Last day in Moscow

Last day in Moscow started with a visit to Leo Tolstoy's Moscow home seeing how he and the family lived. It is set in a lovely garden which he tended and loved for strolling and the interior has been preserved, including table settings and tea set. His study shows his chair with legs cut down so his eyes were close to the desk as his sight was so bad. Lunch for us was not quite as planned but the substitute restaurant - Turandot - proved to be the most opulent setting with beautifully presented food. The dessert brought gasps as it came in...

Jun 15, 2013 - A different Moscow

A very different day starting with lining up to visit the tomb of Lenin; the tomb is located at the wall of the Kremlin but in Red Square. Lenin's body was supposedly preserved by a secret method and I must say that for a man dead since 1924 he's looking remarkably good. There is great speculation as to whether it is his actual body and aslo debate as he is now buried above ground - usually only for saints. Lunch then was at an old Stalin era restaurant which has been carefully preserved. joining us was Valerie a fromer colonel in the KGB...

Jun 15, 2013 - Romanov story

Yekaterinburg is probably best known as the death place of the Romanov family. In 1917 Tsar Nicholas, his wife Alexandra, their children, some family members and some servants were taken prisoner by the Bolsheviks and transported to Yekaterinburg from St. Petersburg. Here they were held in captivity for two months until Lenin gave the order to eliminate them all. They were taken to the basement and shot. Some of the women had sewn jewels into their clothing so they were not killed by the first shot so were shot again and stabbed by...

Jun 14, 2013 - Moscow to Yekaterinburg

Spent the first half of the day in Moscow touring the art works in the metro stations. Impressive collection, each station very different. then on to the Russian Art Museum. By now we are a bit museum end out but have to say this museum with only works by Russian artists was most enjoyable. Incredible talent displayed. Then onto the train where we actually had a decent nights sleep. We arrived 30 hours later in Yekaterinburg. Today we tour this area. Just have to,add this note....The government takes security very seriously especially...

Jun 14, 2013 - Out of Moscow

Decided to rest your eyes from the gilded domes although I could well have given you more as today we headed out of Moscow about 70K NE to the town where the Monastery of the Holy Trinity and St Sergius is located. This monastery is the Larva - chief monastery and base of the patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church and is a complex of cathedrals and buildings. Many of the buildings are under restoration of the exterior but there was still plenty to see and wonder about. I previously sent through a photo of the Trinity icon and this is...